Arranged To Be Engaged
by Mockingjaybird
Summary: When the Ministry decides to fight back against the re-rising Purebloods and their old ways, all seventeen year olds are caught in the middle. Rose Weasley is forced into a relationship with a Malfoy and doesn't think she'll survive her last and final year at Hogwarts. But as she's learned looks are decieving and so is true love. Written for "The Joys of Arranged Marriages"
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Written for "The Joys of Arranged Marriages" from Forever Siriusly Sirius. I do not own Harry Potter. **

…

"Darling, come down here please!" Footsteps run up the wood stairs and then back down again without an answer. Inside a small bedroom, a book drops to the floor with a thud and the door opens, revealing a teenager with curly, red hair and freckles. "Coming!" the girl yells down the staircase, and flies down the steps two at a time. "Mum? Where are you?" she calls once her feet touch the landing.

"I'm in here Rose."

Rose follows the voice and finds both her parents in the parlor, her mother by the window and her father sitting in his armchair, tense. "How goes the packing, sweetheart? Is there anything you need before tomorrow?" her mother asks, with sweetness in her voice as her father looks at his daughter. She's noticed him more tired and tense in the last few months, maybe because the Ministry's been amuck for some time now.

"There's nothing I need. I'm done. I was just catching up on basic course information for the year," Rose replies, referring to the fact that her Sixth year at Hogwarts begins tomorrow. Her father smiles at her, reminded that his daughter is so much like her mother.

"So, what's up?"

Her father looks uneasy for a moment, while her mother crosses the room and rests a hand on the back of her father's chair.

"We need to discuss something important with you," her mother says and Rose begins to feel unsettled at her mother's words. Could it be about school? Did Hogwarts want to take back her Head Girl status?

"O-okay?"

"Rosie," her father says, sitting up slightly. "I-we-want you to know that no matter what, we will always love you, and we're sorry it had to come to this."

Rose is confused, her heartbeat pumping faster. "Come to what?"

"Rose…d-darling…you're…engaged."

"No! What? I don't understand." Her knees feel weak, and her stomach feels queasy.

"The Ministry's losing power, Rose and the only way they can get the upper hand is by doing this. Look, the old Pureblood families are starting to fall under the spell of Purebloods marrying Purebloods to preserve their faction, completely disregarding the rules put into place after the Second Wizarding War. They're taking over, casting out other statuses and separating. It's becoming a war. But the Ministry is fighting back, implementing a new law that all seventeen year olds have an arranged marriage with different blood statuses. If someone doesn't comply, they're labeled as being defiant with the law and have to suffer consequences. It's supposed to keep the Purebloods at bay, and maybe even solve the problem-unite everyone basically," Ron explains.

Rose still doesn't understand, doesn't want to understand. The Ministry's punishing everyone?

"We've tried to get the Ministry to lift the law, but they're not budging."

Her head was spinning and she placed a hand on the doorframe for support. "Who's my…"

Hermione says quickly, "You're engaged to Scorpius Malfoy. We're meeting his family tonight."

She's supposed to marry _him_? Although he's in her house, which had always been a shock to everyone, she's always thought of him as arrogant. But maybe it just comes with the name. Rose weighs this around in her head. But he's a Malfoy. The Malfoy's nearly killed her parents when they were younger. She couldn't be marrying in to _that_.

"I-I…tonight?" Rose feels tears well up in her eyes.

"Yes," Hermione answers in a small voice. "We're so sorry."

Rose feels herself backing way, before sprinting up the stairs and slamming her door shut. She collapses on her bed. Why was the Ministry taking over her life? What was happening? She begins to sob, crying for the loss of her freedom, before falling into slumber.

…

Rose finds herself three hours later Apparating at the Malfoy's foreboding manor that's been past down from generation to generation. A house-elf lets them in, and Rose thinks about her mother's work with S.P.E.W. Have things really gotten this bad? Have the Pureblood families truly begun their reversal?

The house-elf leads them into the foyer where the Malfoy's are waiting. "Hello," Astoria Malfoy greets, brown hair done up in a bun, extending out a hand to the Weasleys. Hermione is the first one to make a move out of her husband and daughter and gladly accepts, smiling. While the women are civil, it's different between the men, awkward and tense.

"Weasley," Draco says with a nod in his direction, "unfortunate circumstances, wouldn't you think?"

"You have no idea, Malfoy."

The men do no other sort of exchange other than that, and nearly retreat behind their wives.

"Say hello, darling," Hermione presses to Rose, when the air gets quiet. Rose focuses on the tall boy that looks almost exactly like his father.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Rose," she greets, extending out a hand, feeling slightly uncomfortable in her sleeveless blue dress.

"Scorpius," the boy replies back and shakes her hand lightly as if not to crush it. He turns to his mother.

"Now that we've done the formalities, don't you think we should get down to business?" Astoria asks.

Hermione agrees and the Malfoy's lead the Weasley's into the parlor, that's massive and expensive looking. Colorful flower arrangements and high quality furniture are decorated around the room, to make it look more inviting.

When the adults have taken a seat, leaving the teenagers to stand by their parents, Astoria suggests, "Scorpius, why don't you show Miss Weasley around while we talk?"

"But I want to-"

"This talk is not meant for your ears. Now go."

The boy holds his breath before beginning to walk out of the room. "C'mon," he says to Rose with an air of annoyance around him, "Let's go."

Rose looks at her parents for quick permission and while Ron shakes his head no, Hermione encourages yes. Hermione catches him, shoots Ron a glare and finalizes her decision to let Rose go.

Rose sighs inwardly, she was hoping she could catch a few words as to what the entire process was about and not be in the dark for once.

She follows her to-be-husband out of the parlor and down the dark hallway, hoping that he would stop so they could talk about their situation. Surely he doesn't like it? When, they've toured around the main floor at a brisk pace, Rose stops.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius demands, when he's realized he's gotten a few feet ahead of her.

"I want to talk," she answers, her red curls bouncing slightly as she crosses her arms. "Look, I've been thinking, I don't like the situation and probably neither do you, so I thought that maybe we could write a letter or something to the Ministry-I mean, if two potential candidates in their law are complaining than maybe-"

She nearly gasps as strong hands grip around her biceps and push her backwards against a wall, holding her there. Heartbeat racing faster, Rose stares fearfully at Scorpius' grey eyes.

"You don't _get _it. This isn't like one of your little petitions for "Mummy's work". This is serious. You can't make the Ministry change its mind. You can comply and make the best of it or you can be imprisoned and labeled a traitor. Surely, your family knows _all_ about that." He lets her go, leaving her to almost crumple against the wall, anger coursing through her veins. He just called her family traitors. He would not get away with that.

Rose retaliates, marching up to him as he fixes the flipped up collar on his dress shirt. She raises a hand quickly before he can catch her and slaps him hard across the face, the blow ringing in the air. When she draws back, he glares at her with such intensity that she thinks he'll grab her again, but he doesn't. He just stares at her pretty face, a red spot forming on his pale cheek. He suddenly smirks, and Rose gets redder.

She yanks on his expensive tie, pulling him down to her height, and almost whispers with anger. "Now, here's something _you_ don't understand. Don't you ever call my family traitors or I swear I will hex your arse so bad, that you'll be in St. Mungo's for a month."

Rose lets him go; rubbing the red marks on her arms where he grabbed her while Scorpius does the same with his cheek, the two both flustered and angry. A house-elf appears telling them that they can come back to the parlor.

"I can't believe you have a house-elf!" Rose accuses, still angry, as she and Scorpius head back towards the parlor. "It's cruel and shouldn't be allowed!"

"He's been in our family for years! He wants to!" Scorpius fires back.

"Oh please, no one wants to do anything."

Scorpius falls silent as they near the parlor, Rose following suit. All adult eyes look at them when they enter the room, and the two teenagers separate, glaring at each other when they stand back with their families.

Both fathers look at their children and notice their fading marks, silently demanding to know what happened. Rose ignores her father and looks away from his stare, as Scorpius pretends to feign interest in the darkness outside.

"We've decided on dates for everything," Astoria announces to the teenagers. "The wedding's a year from now, that way you can get to know each other and settle down completely after your studies. The bridal shower's going to be in December, I know it's a long way off from the actual date, but it's easier that way, with preparations and all. Any objections?"

When neither teen says anything, Astoria claps her hands together. "Perfect. Now I believe its time for something to eat, yes?"

…

The moment the Weasley family Apparates home, Rose ignores her mother's question of how it went and hops up the stares two at a time. She calls down, "I hate him!" before rushing into her room and slamming the door. She screams into her pillow and lies awake all night, thinking that her next-no her last, year at Hogwarts is to be spent with her fiancée.

…

**AN: Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I am officially a junior as of 12:26 this afternoon! And because I now have all summer, I wanted to update. Thank you for all that reviewed, favorited, or followed! Those make my day, honestly. As response to a review I got, yes, I understand this may all be moving a bit fast, but I'm trying to slow down a bit, so tell me if it's still too fast. I do not own Harry Potter.**

…

The whistle of the Hogwarts Express rings in Rose's ears as she and her family stand on the platform. It's only half an hour until the train departs, and she is oddly nervous. Rose doesn't know why, she's done this six times before, so the sensation of starting school shouldn't scare her. But some unfamiliar feeling plants itself inside the pit of her stomach and roots itself there.

"Rosie!" someone calls, and Rose turns towards the familiar voice. The Potters stroll their way down the platform, Lily Luna almost bouncing with excitement. She rushes herself into Rose's arms and squeezes. "I missed you so much Rosie!" Lily exclaims, pulling back.

"I did too Lily. Are you excited?"

"Yes!" she squeals. "I'll finally get to see you more now that I'm a Fifth year! See you on the train!" She hurries over to Rose's younger brother Hugo, who's the same age, and pulls him along the platform to meet her friends.

Rose almost laughs, but stops when she sees pale blonde hair in the corner of her eyesight. She feels Albus slip next to her; her head coming up to his shoulder. "Is that him?" he asks quietly.

"Yes. Have you seen him around before?"

"Yeah, he came over a few times during summer. He and James struck up a friendship last year during Quidditch trials. He's alright. I avoided him mostly."

Rose sighs. "Great. Now he knows my cousins." She changes the subject. "I heard you and Olivia are engaged, congratulations. I suppose it's nice when you're already dating."

She hears him smile as he responds. "It was sheer luck. I'm sure you'll get along with Malfoy."

"Doubt it. We've already had a spat."

The ten minute warning signal sounds off on the train. "Rose, I'm going to go say goodbye to my folks. I'll see you on the train," Albus says, giving her hand a tight squeeze.

Rose follows her cousin's lead, making her way over to her own parents. Her father and uncle turn from their conversation to look at her. "There's our Rose," Harry greets, pulling her in for a hug and a kiss. "You'll be good, won't you?"

"I always am Uncle Harry," she says with a laugh.

He smiles at her, before saying, "Good luck," and heads over to his family.

"Rose," Ron says, as Hermione walks over. "Please try your best to get to know Scorpius. It'll make things a lot better. And don't forget about your studies, okay?"

"I won't forget Dad, and I can't make any promises about him."

The whistle blows again. "I love you both."

"Please make sure Hugo doesn't get into trouble, okay?" Hermione asks, giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek.

Rose laughs, "I'm sure Lily will make sure of that, Mum."

She leaves them and makes her way to the waiting train. The conductor helps her onto the train, and as her feet touch the carpet, she turns around and waves to her family from the door.

As the train pulls out, with one long, last whistle, she makes her way to the back of the train, where the Head carriage is. She, along with the Head Boy are supposed to give the Prefects the necessary information for patrolling the train.

She arrives early as one of the four in the cabin. She makes small talk with the two Hufflepuffs and her friend, Ben, the Head Boy, a Gryffindor like herself and slowly, the other twenty-two students-six per house trickle in.

The meeting has been going ten minutes when the compartment door slides open. All heads turn toward the interruption for a second as Rose stops talking. All eyes turn towards the figure at the door, who leans casually on the door frame.

_Bloody hell. _

The shock of blonde hair at the door doesn't say a word as the Head Boy finishes the patrol list. They excuse the Prefects, telling them that if they've got any questions to find one of them.

As the Prefects file out, talking loudly over each other, Ben asks her quietly, "Are you going to be okay, if I leave you alone with him?"

Rose glances over at Scorpius, who stares at them with scrutinizing eyes. "I'll be fine Ben. Thanks for your concern, but…we're sort of…engaged."

"Engaged? Like, engaged-engaged?"

"Yes. Marriage law-you just made the cut-off, being eighteen and all." Ben looks at her, still shocked, and slightly guilty that his parents had started educating him a year later than his age group.

"Well, I'll be right down the hall if you need me-have to go talk to the Qudditch captain."

"Okay."

Ben files out, without giving Scorpius a stare-down first, leaving Rose alone with him. She gathers her things and begins to walk toward the exit. He smirks at her and leans an arm across the frame.

"Look at you, gathering up the troops."

Rose steps back from the door and cross her arms. "Shut up. What are you even doing here?"

"What? I can't see my fiancée on the train ride?"

Rose reddens. "Don't use that word."

"What word? Oh, _fiancée_?"

"I said, don't say it!"

"What does little Rosie not want the entire train to realize she'll be sleeping with a Malfoy by the end of the year?"

Rose balls her fist up and punches upward toward his jaw. He catches her fist in his hand. "Oh, Rosie, haven't your parents ever told you, that violence is never the answer?" Scorpius mocks. Rose stares at him furious, trying to figure him out. She huffs out air, as he releases her hand, and she turns on her heel.

…

"Insignificant little toad," Rose mumbles under her breath as she makes her way to the compartment where her friends and family are. She's looked behind herself a couple of times to rid herself of Scorpius, to which she hasn't noticed blonde hair following her. Good, she thinks. Maybe he'll leave me alone now.

When she finds their usual compartment and opens the door, she's greeted by a tackle. "Rose! I've missed you all summer!" It takes Rose a second to recognize the voice, and when the girl pulls back, Rose smiles.

"Olivia! I've missed you so much. Wait…did you cut your hair?"

The girl nods, the waves in her now-shoulder length, chestnut hair, shaking a bit. She pulls Rose into the seat across from hers.

"Yeah, I thought it was a time for a change. In case you were wondering where everyone went, Al wanted to go get some candy, Hugo thought it best to hide from Lily, and Ben said that he was coming in a while…wait-Rose, your ears are red. Did something happen?"

Rose curses her father for having the noticeable trait.

"What? Oh, it's nothing. Just ran into Malfoy…the idiot."

Olivia's smile fades. "Right. I forgot that the law applies to everyone else. I suppose it's easier when things work out. How's that going?"

Rose stares out the window, watching the hills roll by. "He's just like his father-or from what I've heard from Dad. He thinks he's so clever, but he's not! Thinks I'll willingly sleep with him when the year's up. As if. I'd rather fail a test than sleep with him."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad. You've only really just met each other. It'll get better."

"That's what I've been hearing."

The compartment door shifts open and Albus strolls in with a handful of candy.

"Here, Olivia, I got your favorite," he says, throwing her a packet of chocolates, and noticing his cousin. "Oh, Rose! I'm sorry, did you want some candy?"

"No, Al. I'm fine."

Albus gives her a skeptical look before sitting next to his girlfriend. Rose leans her head against the window and listens to her best friend as she tunes the world out.

…

The Welcoming Feast is fantastic and delicious as always and the food leaves everyone drunk with sleepiness. By the time Rose heads upstairs to her dorm from her Head Girl duties, everyone is already asleep. Her head hits the pillow and she falls into a dreamless sleep.

….

A week goes by, smoothly and without incident and Quidditch trials are for both returning and potential players. The duo of Rose and Olivia are half-an-hour late- both sprinting down that Saturday to watch Albus and Ben try-out again. The stands are empty when they get there, besides Lily, who is waiting for them as the field is lined up with about fifteen boys, all in Quidditch gear. "Did we miss them?" Olivia asks Lily, plopping down and leaning over the railing.

"Yeah, but Albus and Ben did great!" Lily exclaims to the two girls, turning her head towards Rose. "Oh, and Rosie, you're b-"

"Uh… Rose, I think you ought to see this," Olivia interrupts.

"We just got here; can it wait?" Rose asks looking up from the book she's brought along.

"No."

"Fine."

She leans over the railing and glances near the sidelines of the field, where two boys are fighting; with their hands on each other, pushing back and forth. Their voices rise.

"Hell, is that who I think it is?" Rose asks, before she gets up from her seat, climbing down towards the field. The girls follow her, and as she reaches the grass, she can clearly see the fighters. Ben and Scorpius are shoving each other, Scorpius overpowering him. Albus is right there, trying to step in between of the two, but neither of the boys let him.

Quidditch boys are finally noticing, rushing to the scene. Amidst the yells to stop (and some encouragement), Scorpius is whaling on Ben.

"What did you say, you little brat?" Scorpius bellows at Ben.

"I meant what I said! You're an insufferable prat!" Ben argues back, as he hammers back his arm and lands a punch at Scorpius' face. It connects straight to his left eye, and Scorpius stumbles back for a second. But Scorpius fights back, punching out at Ben's abdomen, causing him to double over and then at his nose. There is a slight crack, and blood begins to gush from his nose.

"Hey! _Hey_! _Stop that_!" Rose yells, as Ben is knocked to the ground. She comes within feet of the boys as others rush to their aid, beginning to separate the two. Both still shout insults at each other and scramble to get at each other, as Scorpius breaks free and straddles Ben on the ground.

"_I SAID STOP!"_ Rose screams with all force her lungs can produce. The entire field falls deadly silent in an instant. Everyone turns to look at her, amazed that such a tiny body can produce such a loud sound.

"Separate them _Now,"_ she orders, her face bright pink. "Before I start taking points away."

The group of boys scramble to complete her orders and when she tells Ben she'll discuss things with him later, she orders him to the Hospital Wing and sends Olivia, Lily, and Albus to accompany him.

Rose finds Scorpius in the locker room, nursing his bruised eye. He closes his locker with a bang.

"We've barely been here for a week, and this is how you start the semester off?" Rose demands, crossing her arms across her chest.

"He started it. And he gave me a black eye," Scorpius says, taking the ice pack off of his eye.

"You broke his nose."

"But my eye-"

"His _nose,_ Malfoy. How'd the fight start?"

"He insulted me-well, us."

Rose raises an eyebrow, skeptically. "Us?"

"Yes, us. He said that there's no way in hell we'd work out, that you'd be so much better off with someone like him. Tell me, did you date him?" There's so much anger in his words that Rose answers in a small voice.

"Yes."

He kicks the locker below his in.

"Are you jealous?" Rose asks as the question suddenly comes to her. _Of course, he is, you idiot. He just made a dent in the metal._

"I think he still likes you," Scorpius says, ignoring her question, turning his head up from his feet to her face, his eyes shining with a curious accusation and fierceness.

"I think the adrenaline's still in your system, Malfoy. Ben said he didn't anymore. I've asked."

Scorpius laughs and Rose is startled by the sudden, unfamiliar sound coming from his throat. "You're so innocent and clueless. It's cute."

Rose's cheeks brighten slightly. "What do you mean?"

"It means he's lying. Any man who tells you that is lying to you."

"I-so?"

"It means I have competition."

"_Excuse me_?"

Scorpius moves closer to her, so that they're less than a foot away from each other. Rose stares at the grass stains on the chest of his uniform, unable to meet his eyes. He towers over her 5'4 stature with his 6'0, bends down so that his mouth is near her ear. Her eyes widen slightly and a strange tingle sparks from her ear to her toes.

Her heart races faster and she can practically hear him smirk as he whispers, "There's one thing you should know about me,_ Rose Weasley_. When I want something_- really want something_- I'll do anything in my power to get it."

…

**AN: And cliffhanger. Please review and give constructive criticism! Don't know why, but when I wrote this, all I could listen to was Jesse McCartney. Weird. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I do not own Harry Potter. Please review. **

…

When Ben's nose is mended an hour later, and word spreads rapidly throughout the halls, Ben swears he's going to kill Rose's fiancé.

"That is, if Rose doesn't kill him first," Albus reminds him, as they walk back to their dooms to freshen up. Both boys are still in their uniforms, Albus's uniform dirtied with grass and Ben's mucked with spots of dried blood.

"Please tell me you hexed his arse, Rose," Ben pleads to her as they turn down the corridor to the Fat Lady's Portrait.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't."

"Then what did you do? It took you an awfully long time to meet us in the Hospital Wing," Ben replies.

"We were talking." She's grateful for the dim lighting when she blushes slightly as they walk through the portrait's passage, still flushed from the close proximity she and Scorpius had earlier. She suddenly remembers what Scorpius had said to her about Ben.

"_You_ were talking with _him_?" he asks, stopping before the landing of the duel staircases.

"Yes; why would you expect me not to?" Rose asks, turning to him. She notices the others look at them for a second before heading up to their dooms, wanting to avoid the spat. "I mean, we can't go on without discussing things; I yelled at him if that'll make you happy. Speaking of discussing things, I'm under the impression that you're not telling me the truth."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Were you lying when you said you didn't like me anymore? Like-like I mean."

Ben sighs after staring at her for a second. "I don't really know how you came up with that, but…I mean…okay, I-"

"There you are! Finally; I've been looking for you everywhere." The Quidditch captain strolls over to them, a wide smile on his face. "I've got the list!"

He hands it over to Ben, who quickly scans it. "Yes! I made it, thank you so much!" He hands it over to Rose.

"So did Albus…and Malfoy."

Ben's smile drops, throwing an accused look toward his captain. "You put Malfoy on the team?"

The captain shrugs. "Had to; bloke's got a wicked pass, and arm." Ben shoots him a glare and Rose looks amused at the reference of Ben's nose. "Sorry, had to. But anyway, practice starts next Thursday night, at sunset."

"I'll be there," Ben says, thanking the captain again as he departs. Footsteps pound down the steps. "You two are still down here? Come on, dinner awaits!" Lily exclaims, skipping the steps with Olivia in tow. "That is, unless you plan on scaring half the school with your uniform."

…

The moment the gang sits down to dinner and is settled in their seats, Scorpius comes in-between Rose and Olivia and sits in the new space. He disturbs the line of Potters and Weasleys, with Rose now squished in the middle of Scorpius and Ben.

"Ah!"

"Hey!"

"What are you?"

"Malfoy, what are you _doing_?" Rose demands in a harsh whisper, looking down the line of her friends and their glares at her black-eyed fiancé.

"What does it look I'm doing? I'm sitting next to you."

"Yes, but you pushed Olivia out of the way. So could you apologize?"

"Alright, fine. Hey, Olivia, I'm sorry."

Olivia responds to him hesitantly, like she doesn't know what to do and looks at the others after in question.

Ben clears his throat, visibly annoyed by Scorpius' antics. "Uh, who said you could sit here?"

Rose turns to Ben and scowls at his rudeness. "Ben!"

"I might as well be sitting here; after all, Rose and I _are_ getting married at the end of the year," Scorpius counters, ignoring Ben's rudeness. "It's called spending quality time together."

Ben rolls his eyes and mutters something under his breath. Scorpius looks pleased with himself.

"Can I please have your attention?" the Headmaster asks, quieting conversations with his booming voice. "As an upcoming event, I am proud to announce that on October 31st, Halloween, there will be a ball here, in the Great Hall."

Clamor immediately rises in the Hall, before dying down again as the Headmaster continues. "All Fifth through Seventh years may attend, and the dance starts at six in the evening and ends at eleven in the evening. I would like to see all Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl when they are done with dinner." The Headmaster concludes his speech and leaves his students buzzing with excitement.

"So, we've got a little over a month, don't we Rose?" Olivia asks. "For dress shopping."

"Yeah, I suppose we do. I'm going to head over to the Professor's table, so I'll see you later. Ben, are you coming?"

"Rose, you can't stay longer?" Scorpius asks, shooting a glare at Ben.

"No, I can't. I'll see you later."

Both get up and walk over to the Professor's table, and soon after, the Prefects join in. The Headmaster stands and joins his students on the front steps of the raised stage. He smiles at them, before beginning.

"I bet you are all wondering why I've called you over. Well, it's about the ball. I will let you all go to the Halloween Ball, as long as you perform the necessary duties beforehand. That being said, I have lists to give Miss Weasley and Mr. Server, who will dole out instructions for each one of you. If you do not perform those duties to the best of your abilities or skip out on these duties, Miss Weasley and Mr. Server have the full ability to deny you admittance to the ball. Is this understood?"

The students answer in the affirmative and as the Headmaster dismisses himself, tasks are quickly given out and a schedule for periodic meetings is established. Everyone is allowed to go and Rose leaves the Great Hall, with a new stress on her shoulders.

Her head whirls with the huge task of overseeing the planning Prefects for the next month along with getting her studies done, and worrying about what Scorpius could do next. She sighs out loud.

For the next month, Rose thinks that one move can mess everything up.

…

**AN: Okay, this is a filler, somewhat. Next chapter will be up today or tomorrow. Please review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm proud of myself-four updates in a week. I do not own Harry Potter. Please review.**

…

As the next month rolls by without incident, the final week-two days- before the ball arrives. The planning team has gotten everything completed and up as of this morning, leaving Rose with the time to relax.

She finds herself walking down the pathway into Hogsmeade in the crisp, cool air afternoon to grab a drink at the Three Broomsticks. When she enters Hogsmeade and its perpetual snow, she takes in the sight of students trying to find outfits last minute, and groups of people just hanging out. She suddenly has no idea why she came down here by herself.

She trudges into the Three Broomsticks and finds a spot in the back that's not already taken by Hogwarts students. She takes out a reading book and as the barmaid comes around to her, she notices her fiancé enter. She realizes she hasn't spoken to him in nearly a month.

"Oh no." Rose immediately hides behind her book.

The barmaid looks behind her and smiles. "What? Him?"

Rose nods and says, "I don't want him to see me; he'll just come over and start being annoying-I swear he'll stop at nothing just to annoy me."

The barmaid smiles again and laughs, "Don't worry sweetheart, he acts like that around the people he likes."

"Excuse me?"

"You'll figure it out." The barmaid walks away to get Rose her order of Butterbeer, and Rose's head whirls. He acts that way out of choice? Because he likes her?

She sits unnoticed in her corner milling things over in her mind for about two hours or so, until someone disrupts her reading. She glances up. Scorpius stands there, looking nervous.

"Malfoy? Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." The look on his face says otherwise. "It's getting late, and I don't think you should walk back to the castle alone. Would you like to come back with me?"

Rose looks outside the frosted windows-he's right, the sun is already setting. There's almost no one in the Three Broomsticks anymore, other than older wizards and witches. It's a nice gesture, and an odd one coming from him and Rose finds herself playing with the corner of a page.

"Uh…"

"It's okay. I just wanted to make sure that you got back okay." He seems slightly hurt by the tone in her voice, and Rose is just trying to make sense of it all. Why is he so nervous?

"I guess I'll see you later," he says and turns his back to her. She sighs, setting her book down on the table. What could go wrong?

…

She doesn't know how she ends up walking back with Scorpius, but she does as the first stars appear. They're silent as they walk through the alleys, until Scorpius blurts something out. "Would you go to the ball with me?

"What?"

"Would you go to the ball with me, as my date?"

"I-I don't know what to say."

"Would you say yes? Unless, _Ben's_ already asked you…"

"He hasn't." Was this part of his plan? Was this why he was so nervous-he wanted to ask her? What harm could be done? It was just one event. She might as well try. "But…sure. I'll go with you."

Rose watches as his face lights up, looks relieved. He laughs, and Rose begins to believe that she likes the sound. Soon, she's laughing as well, and the two fall into a fit of giggles for no reason that they can come up with.

"Look what we have here," a voice says, stepping out of the nearby passageway, stopping their laughter. Both look alarmed, and Rose takes a step back. She yelps, as a hand draws itself over her mouth, and Scorpius turns just in time to catch her wrist.

"Let her go," Scorpius demands, moving a hand toward his pocket to draw his wand.

"Don't even _think_ about it," the voice says from behind him. Scorpius turns his head slowly and finds himself at wand-point. His heart races.

"Seth?"

"Hey, Scorpius. Long time no see."

"What do you want?" His hand is still locked on Rose's wrist; not daring to let go.

"We thought we should talk to you."

"About what?"

"Her."

Scorpius feels Rose being tugged and her arm rips from his grasp and she screams behind the hand holding her. He turns, and watches the boy holding her drag her away from him. Scorpius knows he has a split second decision to either stay or chase after them. He looks at Seth-his former friend from childhood, and stares at him for a moment.

It's now or never.

Scorpius breaks out into a sprint, doesn't concentrate on the following footsteps or the spells flying over his head. He has one focus:

To get Rose back.

He manages to get his wand out and cast a few spells behind him. A jolt of red light hits him in the face and he cries out and stumbles slightly, the skin on his cheek tearing open a bit, sending blood trickling down. He continues on and sees them turn a corner. He runs faster and suddenly feels panic-they're not there anymore. He runs forward, feels a slender hand on his wrist and is pulled down a side-alley.

The hand doesn't let go for a second and Scorpius's heart doesn't slow down until he notices the red hair below him.

"Rose!"

"Shh!"

"How did you-?"

"Non-verbal Stunning Spell-he's over there." She motions somewhere to the left of her. "Come on!" She pulls him down the alleyway, poking her head out slightly from behind the wall. "It's safe to cross."

They sprint across the way and Scorpius hears the footsteps first, shoves Rose against the wall. He wraps his arms around her head in a protective manner, pulls her closer to him. Rose is buried into his chest, like a deep embrace and the two try to quiet their breathing as the footsteps pass by. It's a painful silence before a jet of blue light flies down their alley.

"Count of three I want you to run and get help," Scorpius whispers rapidly, the adrenaline pushing itself inside of his brain.

"But you'll be all alone!"

"Just do it. _One_."

"Who are they?"

"Friends. _Two_!" Another bolt of light launches down the alley.

"Scorpius, I don't-!" He looks straight into her eyes, leans down and kisses her. It's one of those longing, goodbye kisses, not completely gentle, but not completely rough either. It's one of those kisses that mean life or death.

Her heart flutters and for a second, she forgets she's even in this mess. But when he pulls back, her mind becomes aware and she remembers what she's been instructed.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to call me that. _Three_."

He lets her go, slightly pushes himself away from her, and disappears around the corner. There are shouts and curses, and Rose is alone in the dark. She starts a few feet before she hears a scream distinctly like Scorpius and thinks about it.

Go get help, or save her fiancé? Be somewhat intelligent or be somewhat stupid?

For the first time in her life, Rose decides to be somewhat stupid. She follows Scorpius's lead, turning around the corner and hiding in the darkness, her heart pounding so loud she's afraid they'll hear.

She tiptoes further until she can hear voices, see the shadows under the moonlight. "What do… you want?" Scorpius asks; knees bent underneath his body; head slumped back against the wall. He sounds tired and in pain and a wand is pointed in his direction.

"We heard you and the blood-traitor were getting hitched. Didn't think of inviting us to the wedding? Come on, after all this time, I thought we were friends."

"She's not a blood-traitor. And we were, until you got too caught up in all that Pureblood crap."

"There you go again. Has she messed with your head? Look at where your ancestors came from, how your family got its reputation. All of it is from being a Pureblood." Seth laughs. "Are you seriously going to throw all that way for some stupid little witch?"

Scorpius doesn't say a word and just grits his teeth; wants to tell him that it's the Ministry, and there's nothing to do about it. But he knows his response will just get the usual, 'there's always an override to every system' speech.

"There's got to be something else than just the law; so what's making you go through with it? Parents, money, love?"

Scorpius looks away from them, heat rushing to his face. "Ah, it must be love. Look at the way he's blushing!"

When he doesn't answer again, the boys laugh and mock him and Seth bends down to Scorpius, grabs his face with his hand and squeezes. Scorpius cries out and hisses, as Seth's fingers press into his open cut, searing the flesh there.

"Well, we can't have that, now can we? Fan out and find her."

When the boys depart in the opposite direction away from her, Rose moves closer, creeping forward.

"What… the hell… are you trying to accomplish?" Scorpius asks, trying to get off the ground. "You know where she comes from…so you know what she's capable of." He manages to push himself up, leaning his shoulder into the wall. He holds his thigh, clearly in pain.

"She's going to taint both you and your family. And we don't want that. And it seems that maybe you want that to happen. And because we can't find _her_, maybe it's better to beat some sense into _you_."

Seth starts forward and the words are said too rapidly before Rose can get there. "_Crucio_!"

Scorpius falls back down, screaming, trying to get rid of the fire in his body.

Rose needs to do something. "_Avis_! _Oppugno_!" Yellow birds erupt from her wand and shoot forward, buzzing and pecking around Seth's head, causing him to turn his attention away from Scorpius, who now whimpers. "_Stupefy_!"

The spell misses Seth's body by a foot, and he vanquishes the birds by setting them on fire. "_Diffindo_!" The bolt of light finds her, slashes her sweater and rips through the skin on her arm. She hisses, but ignores the pain. "_Flipendo_!"

"_Incarcerous_!"

Both yelp as their spells hit their targets, the ropes binding around Rose's legs, causing her to crash to the ground and Seth falling onto his back. Rose is dragged, the cobblestone scraping her back, as Seth recovers first.

"Looks likes I've caught something. _Expelliarmus_."

"No! Let me go!" Rose struggles and gets yanked up by her arm, and dragged over to the wall. A hand closes around her throat. "Here she is."

"Let us…go!"

"Where would the fun be in that?"

"How clever…do you…think…you…are?" Rose asks, suddenly coming up with a plan as she tries to find more air to breathe.

"Well, I orchestrated this entire thing, so honestly, quite. How clever do you think you are, now that you're here?"

"V-very."

"Is that so? You're trapped, and you still think you're clever? Ha."

"Y-you've…forgotten," Rose says, struggling to breathe now, her head feeling light. "I'm the…the…offspring of…the brightest…witch…of her age…"

"And? So far, I'm not impressed."

Rose manages a smirk and thinks: _stupefy._

...

Seth crashes to the ground, unconscious and Rose doubles over to breathe, rubbing her throat. _Impressed now?_

She finds her wand on the ground and frees her legs, wasting no time in planning an escape. The others-they'll be back soon enough, and she doesn't want to have to deal with them. She bends down next to Scorpius.

"Hey, hey! Can you hear me? Come on, do _something_…" she pleads, looking behind her frantically. She swears she hears voices coming.

He only manages a whimper and Rose begins to panic. A shout sounds behind her and she turns slowly. "Crucio!"

A jet of light hurls toward her and she screams as it hits her body. It hits her square in the chest, her heartbeat nearly ripping itself out of her, the pain mixing in her blood; she feels like she's melting. Her eyelids close on her before her head knocks back against the stone and she slips down to the ground.

…

**AN: Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews and favorites! Please review! **

…

Her head throbs and she squeezes her eyes tighter to block out the dim light that falls through her eyelids. She moves slightly, attempting to loosen the too tight covers, and a sore, painful sensation rolls through her body, making her whimper. Her body stings like hell.

"Relax, Miss Weasley." It's the voice of the matron of the hospital, Madame Wainscott. "Open your eyes."

Rose does as she's told, is met with the scene of an empty, silent Hospital Wing. A dark shadow engulfs the room, lit only by candle fixtures on the walls. Rose figures it's at least two, three in the morning.

"How do you feel?"

"Bloody miserable and weak," she moans. "Like my body's been stomped on a few dozen times."

"Well, I've bandaged up your arm and there was a gash on the back of your head that I mended. The bruising around your neck might take a few days. I've given you a potion to help with the pain. It's really just about taking it easy-which will mean no Halloween Ball."

Rose almost protests, leaning forward, yet stops when the pain is too much. She drops back down into the covers.

"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley, but your health comes first. The Headmaster's contacted your parents by the way; they're coming in a few hours. Now, if you need me, I'll be in my office."

Madame Wainscott turns, and walks into her office, her small heeled shoes clicking on the stone.

Rose sighs, irritated and tired; thinks about how she's about to miss the ball tomorrow because of this. Thinks about how disappointed she is about not going with Scorpius.

"It's okay. There are always other dances." The voice is low and hoarse, raspy almost. Rose turns her head-slowly, she tells herself-finding Scorpius lying in bed to the right of hers. She's relieved to find him awake; alive, really. There's a sharp, jagged line running down his cheek, stitched up, and to her, it seems like the only facial wound he's received.

Rose suddenly realizes that she's confused. She remembers that he kissed her, which brings a rush of blood to her cheeks just thinking about it, and she doesn't exactly understand what gave. They went from hating each other, to kissing each other in a matter of weeks. She didn't initiate the kiss, he did. So it was all his decision to do it.

"Why did you kiss me?"

Scorpius looks startled and begins blushing. "I…I don't really know what came over me. I was just really happy…happy that you called me 'Scorpius' for once instead of 'Malfoy', I guess."

Rose mills this over in her head. He was just happy; a spur of the moment decision. It didn't mean he liked her, right? They were just two people forced into a relationship neither wanted, and forced into a possible life or death situation in Hogsmeade. But then…there was the dance.

"Why did you ask me to the dance then?"

"I thought that I might as well be nice. And you…you worked so hard on the dance…and I thought it you would like it if I asked you." His voice gets quieter with every word and Rose swears he's blushing more now.

"And your nervousness?"

"I was debating about asking you for weeks now, because rejection is never an easy thing. Why is this 'twenty questions?'?"

"It's not-I just wanted to know. Besides, it's not everyday a girl gets asked to a dance, kissed, and then nearly killed by her fiancé's former friend!"

There's a silence between them before Scorpius says, "Seth and his friends have been sent to the Ministry-Headmaster came in a few hours ago and told me. He said that it sounds extreme, but I guess they don't fool around when it comes to stuff like that."

"Good."

Another silence falls between them and Scorpius says, "You do realize that we can't keep hating each other, right?"

"I do, but I don't hate you. At least not as much."

"That's a start."

…

At precisely nine in the morning, the Hospital Wing doors swing open. Rose's friends-Lily, Albus, Olivia, Ben, and Hugo-come rushing in, Olivia with flowers.

"Rose!" everyone exclaims, rushing to her bedside. Rose looks at them with wide eyes from the attention and takes a quick glance toward Scorpius. He avoids her gaze, and looks away.

"Rose, Mum and Dad are in the Headmaster's office-they said that they were coming to see you an hour," Hugo says, plopping down in a chair by her bedside, his red hair bouncing a bit.

"What happened?" Olivia asks, setting the small bouquet of flowers on the bedside table.

"Someone attacked us. I don't really want to talk about it," Rose says.

"That's okay, you don't have to," Albus says. "Do you want us to bring you up some food? I think there's still food in the Great Hall-the decorations look amazing by the way."

Rose smiles at her cousin. "Um, sure. And thank you by the way; it wouldn't be possible without the Prefects."

"Then we'll be right back. Hey, Scorpius," Albus says, turning to Scorpius with a small smile. "Would you like something from the Great Hall?" Rose feels overjoyed that Albus is being nice to him.

"I appreciate the offer, but no thank you," Scorpius says, returning the smile.

"Alright. Lily, Hugo, Ben, do you want to come with us? We could use the help," Albus says. Lily and Hugo agree and they along with Olivia and Albus head down the hall.

Now, it's just Ben, Rose and Scorpius.

"I'm glad you're alright, Rose," Ben says. "You have no idea how worried everyone was when we heard this morning." He reaches a hand out to push away a stray strand of red hair from her face.

Rose feels her ears get warm and begins to feel uncomfortable. She can't believe that Ben would do this in front of her fiancé. Out of the corner of her vision, she can see Scorpius staring. Scorpius glares jealously at the two, and Rose notices.

She turns her head away slightly. "I'm sorry, that hurts."

They make small talk as the others return and soon Rose and Scorpius's parents arrive. Astoria dotes over Scorpius, Draco standing besides her with arms crossed. "Why'd you get yourself into danger, Scorpius? You took Rose in with you," Rose hears Draco say.

"I didn't purposely get myself into trouble, Dad. It found us! It's not my fault! If anything, it's the stupid Ministry's! They're the ones that started this!"

Rose tunes them out as her parents talk to her. "You're only about two months into school and this is what you get yourself into? Come on, you can do way better Rose," Ron says.

"Oh please, Ron. It's nothing compared to what we did," Hermione responds. They're right, Rose thinks. This really is nothing.

"When are you supposed to get out of here, honey?" Hermione asks.

"Madame Wainscott said by tonight."

"Wonderful! Now, Rose, we have to go back for work. Will you be okay if we left you?"

"Yes Mum. I'll be fine."

"Great. Now be careful and try not to get yourself into any trouble, okay?" The Weasleys depart as do the Malfoys, and soon the gang leaves too. They leave a silent Rose and a grumbling Scorpius by themselves.

"What's wrong?"

"What was that? Ben shouldn't have done that! If I wasn't lying in this stupid bed I would have punched him! You're supposed to be my wife at the end of the year, Rose! He's not supposed to touch you like that! You're supposed to be…you're supposed to be mine."

"Oh, so I'm a prize to be won?"

"No, it's just he knows we're supposed to be married! He shouldn't be doing stuff like that!"

"He probably doesn't even know what he's doing, so don't get worked up over it."

"Oh, no. He knows _exactly_ what he's doing-smirked at me as he walked out!"

Rose doesn't know what to say. "Please don't tell me you're going to do something stupid."

"Rose, I can tell you I can never promise that to you. What I can promise you is that now, I will do anything to show what is supposed to be mine and not Benjamin Server's."

Rose sighs. Back to square one. Back to jealousy.

…

**AN: I hope this clears up anything. I'm debating about writing a story about different types of kissing situations, probably with Scorpius and Rose. Should I? Tell me what you think! Please review!**


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